Tess and I said goodbye to Oakland yesterday morning and headed across the bridge north to Sonoma. Wine country. We passed vineyard after vineyard, rows of sturdy stakes and bare elevated lines waiting for warmth and the burst of spring. Tess provided interesting and intellectual commentary as the miles slid under the car.

At one point along the way, I realized that I had become accustomed to solitary drives. Travel in tandem requires an adjustment in mindset. My thoughts, used to wandering freely with the passing landscape, were becoming channeled in lanes of conversation. Bridges of connection with the human next to me.

It rained, off and on, most of the way. We wandered into the Charles Schultz museum while we were waiting until 3:00, the magic hour when our Airbnb would be ready for us. Enormous murals of a sad child in a shirt with zigzag stripes, hoping that this time the sister would show love. (She doesn't.) The dramas of our youth, immortalized and revisited. Snoopy and Woodstock were a welcome relief from the angst.

Our host, Lyndsey, greeted us at the appointed hour, welcoming us into a home that exuded serenity and comfort. Although we were only her fourth guests, she is an experienced traveler and understands hospitality. Lovely home,